Don’t ignore dog bite injuries–it increases your risk for rabies and severe wound infections. If someone’s dog bit you, you should come and give us a visit or call one of our Eason & Tambornini personal injury lawyers to know your legal options. We will help you understand what happens when a dog bites you, what diseases you can get from a dog bite, dog bite symptoms, and dog bite management. Should you have any questions about your dog bite injuries, please do not hesitate to send us a message or give us a call.
What should you do when a dog bites or is being aggressive toward you?
Dogs, however docile and gentle they may seem, are still animals and could attack at any time, even without provocation. They are incredibly loyal and territorial animals, so if you’re visiting a friend or passing by someone’s house, it’s never wise to pet or play with their dog unless he’s familiar with you.
If a dog is aggressive toward you, you need to stay calm, avoid direct eye contact with him, and walk away slowly until you’re a safe distance away from the dog. Maintaining eye contact with a dog is like telling him you’re challenging his position.
If a dog still attacks, use anything you can use to fight him off and try to protect your face, throat, and chest at all times.
Once the dog lets go, wash your wounds immediately with soap and water and go to the nearest hospital for proper wound care.
What kind of diseases can you get from a dog bite?
In addition to the wounds, there are serious diseases that you can get from a dog bite. The most common and most serious disease is rabies. It’s a virus that attacks the brain and can cause inflammation and neurological symptoms. Rabies is almost always very fatal, so you need to go to the hospital immediately to get anti-rabies shots.
The wound can also get infected since bacteria live in the dog’s saliva. Some bacteria that cause wound infection are Capnocytophaga spp., Pasteurella, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, and tetanus.
If left untreated, these dog bite wound infections can cause non-healing severe wounds, life-threatening diseases, paralysis, and even death.
What are some of the dog bite symptoms?
Dog bite symptoms to watch out for include pain, redness, warmth, swelling, and pus around the wound. You also need to watch out for fever, chills, sweats, and swollen glands under your armpits and groin, as well as the neck region, just behind the ear and under the chin. These symptoms mean that the wound is infected.
Symptoms of rabies infection are neurological symptoms like hallucinations, aggression, confusion, anxiety and depression, and paralysis of the lower extremities. The dog bite victim also exhibits excessive saliva production, difficulty swallowing due to throat pain and spasms, and fear of water that even the sight of it could make them more aggressive.
Unfortunately, dog bite victims who exhibit rabies symptoms gradually worsen over the succeeding days, and usually, nothing can be done to reverse the effects. This is why you must get anti-rabies shots as soon as you get bitten.
What are dog bite management and treatment?
The bitten area should be washed thoroughly with soap and running water to remove dog saliva and debris as much as possible. If the wound is bleeding copiously, bind the area tightly with a clean bandage and elevate it to reduce blood loss, then go to the hospital immediately for proper wound debridement and care. You also need to get vaccinations against rabies and tetanus, especially if the dog that bit you was a stray dog.
For extensive dog bite injuries that involve the head and neck region, surgery may be ordered to repair the tissue damage.
Pain meds, antibiotics, and anti-inflammatory drugs will also be given to prevent infection and control pain and swelling. For non-healing dog bite wounds, a wound culture may be ordered.
What can you do?
Dog bite injuries can get expensive to treat, especially if surgery is required for extensive tissue damage and facial injuries. The pain, suffering, and trauma it caused the victim could even result in post-traumatic stress disorder, necessitating additional psychotherapy treatment.
If someone else’s dog has bitten you, know that you have the right to seek fair compensation from the irresponsible dog owner for all you went through and will be going through as you recover from your injuries. Please call our office, and we’ll help you understand what a dog bite means, the diseases you can get, dog bite symptoms to watch out for, and treatment options for dog bites.
If the irresponsible dog owner and your insurance company are having difficulty getting the help you need for your dog bite injuries, call one of our Eason & Tambornini dog bite attorneys in Sacramento now, and we’ll be glad to help you.
